The Delaware ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1879-19??, 1887-06-11
Choosing a Minister.

seeking Il pastor, an occupation that
had cn@osscd their energies for
time past. For it was fully seven
months since the council had as
semhlcd to formerly dismiss Mr..
Barnes and had declared the pulpit
vacant.
Mr. Barnes had labored faithfully
in their service five long years. Dur
ing all this time he had preached
good, if not brilliant sermons at
tended regularly ut the prayer meet
ing, and made all the pastoral calls
that one mortal man, without Il
horse and buggy could reasonably
be expected to make. And yet his
congregation We're not satisfied. In
timations finally reached the ears of
the good man that his resignation
would be resignedly excepted. He
sent it in, and the papers the next
day announced the grief of the First
church at the resignation of their
beloved pastor, Mr.. Barnes, whose
wilr's health forced him to seek Il
more salubrious climate.
Whcrcupon it devolved upon the
orphaned congregation to choose for
themselves Il pastor Il man after
their own hearts --onc who should
possess all the virtues of their late
pastor, as well as those which he
lacked.
They proceeded to search for him
in the truly orthodox way, namely,
by entertaining candidates. Sab
bath after Sabbath beheld a differ
ent divine in the pulpit. They
came we know not whence and re-
turned we know not whittier. They
embraced every known type Of men
from the venerable D. D. Of three
score and ten to the immature theo-
logical student OF u summers.
The doctrine preached to that peo-
Pile during the season of candidating
was as variegated as the patchwork
silk quilt which they presented to
their late pastors wife on her b irth
day. 1t shaded all the way from
Catholicism to Universalism, and
branched out into every known
"ism.' There was the old school,
and the new school, old fashioned
orthodoxy and modern free thought.
There were sermons with strong
lcanings toward Liberalism, and
there were others fraught with Cal
vinism and oozing orthodoxy at
every pore. And there were scicn-
tiic sermons without end, and poet
ical and philosophical ones. But in
all this variety the people found not
the man they sought. There was
some insurmomtablc objection to
every candidate
Rev. Abercombie gave them good
sermons, but the college students
declared that his gestures were Eek
crablc' and would dcmoralize their
own style, and they came en- massc
to the church meeting and voted
him down.
Rev. J. Irwin Smith was youth
lul and handsome and the young
ladies shed tears of regret when the
church decided not to call him
But Deacon Grimes said his sermon
was mere lrolh, and he they would
not in his day, get down to man
who parted his hair in the middle.
Rev. loring was to dramatic and
threatened To convert the staid old
church into n theatre, while good
Mr.. Blakrly. who dcspiscd show, he
cause he didn't draw, was rejected
One candidate was too solemn. an
other too frivolous ; one was too re-
served, another too common.
And 50 the spring and summer
came and faded away, and fall wa,
fast emerging into winter, and the
people were growing weary Of thcil
and longcd for a settled pastor, but
he still cludcd them. As old Mr.
Grove aptly summoned up the sit
uation
"Wc've had close toa hundred
men here to preach for us and we've
given them all Il fair show and
there haint been Il perfect man
among them"
At length, when expectation was
well nigh exhausted, a cheering ray
penetrated the gloom ofthcir minds
eye, they could see as their own cs-
tablisned pastor the brilliant young
preacher who was holding audiences
spell-bomd in a western city. A
delegation was dispatched to treat
with him. lie had graciously con
sented to consider the matter, and
the whole situation was as encour.
aging MS it well could be. lie was
to preach for them on trial the first
Sunday in December, and ON the